Flood (Earth-4001)
The Flood, designated as LF.Xx.3273 by the Forerunners (Latin Inferi redivivus meaning "the dead reincarnated") and referred to as the Parasite and the infection by the Covenant, is a species of highly virulent parasitic organisms that reproduce and grow by consuming sentient lifeforms of sufficient biomass and cognitive capability. The Flood was responsible for consuming most of the sentient lifeforms in the galaxy - including the vast majority of Forerunners - during the Forerunner-Flood war in ancient past, prompting the activation of the galaxy-sterilizing Halo Array in 97,445 BCE. Originating as a corrupted form of the galaxy's most ancient custodians (the Precursors) the Flood reproduces and spreads by infecting other organisms, hijacking their bodies and nervous systems in order to transform them into one of many specialized forms. Through infecting sentient lifeforms, the Flood assimilates their memories and intelligence, and the species becomes collectively more intelligent as a result. Because of their frighteningly rapid growth rate, as long as enough hosts of sufficient biomass and intelligence are available, the Flood is effectively unstoppable. All Flood forms share a single consciousness, which becomes progressively more intelligent and sophisticated with every sentient host that is assimilated. When enough hosts have been infected, the Flood consciousness becomes a Gravemind - a self-aware, highly intelligent entity that strategically commands all Flood forms in an outbreak. Due to this group consciousness, the Flood as a whole is more accurately described as a single, transsentient macro-organism rather than a collection of individuals directed by one or more controlling beings. In the absence of a Gravemind, the Flood possesses only basic coordination; they are incapable of forming complex strategies, and focus solely on attacking and infecting nearby sentient organisms. This stage of a Flood outbreak is known as the Feral Stage. At this stage, the Flood seek to create an assembly of biomass, calcium, and nervous system reserves, which leads to the creation of a Flood hive and the beginnings of a proto-Gravemind. The nature of the Flood's collective consciousness is similar to that of a hive mind, the Flood act as a unified entity, with no individuality that is inherent to other species; each vessel of the Flood works tirelessly to aid in the propagation of their species. The Flood presents a highly variable and unconventional threat in combat, as it can infect and mutate dead or captured opponents into a myriad of deadly forms, effectively growing stronger as it weakens enemy forces. They are widely considered to be the greatest threat to the existence of life (or, more accurately, biodiversity) in the Milky Way galaxy. History The history of the Flood is the same as their mainstream counterparts up until the end of the Human-Covenant War in 2553. Flood Forms The Flood is composed of a variety of specialized forms, each filling a different role in combat. The most basic Flood forms are the infection forms, which come in various types and infect hosts by hijacking their bodies and nervous systems. Infected hosts then undergo a rapid series of transformations, becoming lethal combat forms. Combat forms are used to subdue and secure additional hosts for infection, and once they have outlived their usefulness as warriors, they transform into carrier forms, spreading the Flood by spreading more infection forms. Once the Flood has amassed enough bodies to create a Gravemind, it is capable of generating "pure" forms, which are created solely from assimilated nutrients and biomass. The pure forms observed during the outbreak in late 2552 were able to spontaneously mutate between three configurations: Stalker, Tank and Ranged forms, although in practice the true extent of their mutability is impossible to effectively catalog. The Flood at this point relegate the combat forms to defensive purposes or as additions to the biomass, calcium, and nervous system reserves of the Flood hive, and rely increasingly on the pure forms as their primary instrument of infantry force. However, in order for the pure forms to fully replace the combat forms, the pure Flood population must be large enough and in a state of equilibrium, which is in a constant state of flux depending on Flood gains and losses. Because of this, it is common for the combat forms to serve alongside the pure forms, in addition to the infection and carrier forms, as the acquisition of hosts and technology would likely outstrip the speed in which the Flood can generate pure forms. Spores Spores are minuscule airborne Flood forms that serve to spread infection and suffocate potential hosts who inhale them. Infection Forms Infection forms are the most basic category of the Flood parasite. Tadpoles Pod infectors undergo a tadpole phase of development before growing into full physical maturity. Pod Infectors These are among the most basic of Flood forms. They are tasked with seeking hosts, then infect them that mainly on the ground. Pure Forms These forms are the natural Flood species, developed without a host. Stalker Form Stalker forms are extremely agile and can jump large distances. They tend to crawl on ceilings and walls before leaping at an opposing enemy. The Stalkers attack far more rarely than the other two forms. If threatened, it will transform into either a Tank or Ranged form. Their chesspiece role is to seek out enemies and then decide whether to transform into Ranged or Tank forms accordingly. Ranged Form Ranged Forms can usually be found clinging to ceilings or walls, though unlike the Stalker Form, they cannot move from a given spot. They can fire sharp projectiles from a long range without the need of a weapon. These are slightly more tricky to kill due mainly to the fact that they can pin an enemy down in a position for a very long time. If they are left alone for some time, they will change back into a Stalker Form, get a better angle, and become a Ranged Form again. Their role as chesspiece is to pin down enemies with suppressing fire from afar so that the close-combat reliant flood forms can advance on the enemy undisturbed. They are to flood what machine gunners are to humans and Covenant as they lack the subtlety to be snipers, though they are just as accurate. Tank Form Named for their immense endurance and strength, Tank Forms are the largest variety of Pure Form and are easily spotted from a distance. Unlike the other Flood Pure Forms, they can not climb on walls and ceilings due to not having a stealth background. These Flood can take a tremendous amount of damage and can kill you in one hit on higher difficulties. They also occasionally spew Infection Forms from their 'mouths'. It takes a long time to kill one with other weapons, but the Energy Sword can kill them in one hit. Their chesspiece role is close-ranged attacks to soften enemies up for infection. Carrier Form These forms asexually reproduce other forms of flood life. They incubate Pod infectors, and release them upon death. Combat Forms Once a host of any organic/sentient species has been infected, they can develop into a combat form. Human Form The human combat form is significantly smaller than other forms due to their hosts' smaller stature. As with other combat forms, it is capable of sustaining massive physical damage before being unusable to the Flood. Although it cannot take as much damage as the Sangheili combat form, the human form has some advantages, being more agile, harder to hit due to its small size, and quicker to melee an opponent. The head of the combat form is pushed to the right side of the body to make room for the Pod infector. Sangheili Form The Sangheili combat form is agile, resilient, and capable of utilizing its host's armor abilities such as active camouflage and energy shields to assist them in combat. The Sangheili combat forms are slightly larger than the human form and as such present a larger target. The head of the combat form is typically slung over the right shoulder, the neck bones having been "liquefied" during infection. Jiralhanae Form The Jiralhanae combat form is a formidable enemy and is more aggressive in combat than other combat forms, as it will charge towards an opponent recklessly; this behavior is most likely a holdover from the Jiralhanae's savage nature and preference for close combat. The Jiralhanae form is more powerful than the human form, but falls short against the Sangheili form. It is bulkier and slower than other combat forms. Since a Jiralhanae cannot be infected until their power armor is destroyed, the Jiralhanae form cannot make use of their host's armor abilities. During infecton, the Pod infector often burrows into the mouth of a Jiralhanae, pushing the lower jaw and rest of the head apart to fit into the body. This is in contrast to the infecton process of humans and Sangheili, where the Pod infector typically burrows into the left side of the chest of its victim. However this isn't always the case. Key Minds Key minds are nodes for the Flood's collective consciousness, ranging from mobile coordinating forms to compound minds spanning entire planets. Juggernauts The Flood Juggernaut is a large Flood command form directed by a seething mass of infection forms linked to multiple hosts. Proto-Gravemind A biomass of hosts, for the purpose of utilizing their minds to form a collective intelligence. A Proto-Gravemind can grow into a Gravemind given enough time and host bodies. Gravemind This ultimate Flood form serves as the coordinating hive mind of the Flood. While they vary in size and complexity, at their height Graveminds can engulf entire worlds. Biology The Flood is an anomaly in all known biology; their mode of growth and reproduction would make them incompatible with any natural ecosystem. They are extremely adaptive, and transform hosts to suit the species' current needs. Capable of surviving extreme environments ranging from -75 to +53 degrees Celsius and even underwater, the Flood can withstand the varied environments of all known inhabited planets. However, the Flood seem to thrive the most in moist and humid areas; it is thought that the extremely cold artificial weather patterns near certain important areas of the Halo rings are intended to hinder the Flood. In order to give themselves ideal living conditions, the Flood will transform the environment to better suit their needs, altering the atmosphere and covering solid surfaces with Flood biomass. All Flood biomatter is made of a unique, undifferentiated "Super Cell", which relays information and coordinates the cellular assembly like conventional neural cells. It is also capable of flexing and moving in coordination with other cells, and can be arranged to mimic any bodily organ that is required for the Flood's use. This combination of traits has caused some to refer to it as "thinking muscle." The Flood Super Cell physically resembles both neuron and glial cells in structure, with a central cell body and many tendril-like, branching structures. Infection In order to reproduce and grow in biomass, the Flood needs to infect and assimilate other life-forms. While capable of infecting nearly any organism, the Flood shows a strong preference for sentient life-forms, as assimilating their cerebral tissue allows the Flood to increase its overall intelligence. The first stage of a Flood outbreak is typically initiated by contact with Flood spores or even more reduced forms of Flood biomatter, should no extant Flood forms be present. Once a basic infestation has been established, Flood infection is typically carried out by Pod infectors, which are some of the most complex forms that can be generated from Flood biomass during the Feral Stage. Upon sighting a host, a Pod infector will leap for the most accessible area of the victim's torso; if the target is an armed human or other bipedal species, this is typically the left side of the chest below the neck, as most combatants will expose this area while shouldering their weapon. Upon contact, the Pod infector will rasp away at clothing and flesh until it has burrowed into the chest cavity, mortally wounding them. As the host dies, the Pod infector extends tentacles that tap into the victim's spinal cord or other nerve center, forcing a "match" with the nerve signals previously produced by the host's living brain. To begin the physiological conversion of a host, the Pod infector injects encapsulated Flood Super Cells into the body. As it does so, the form analyzes the entire genetic code of its host, allowing the Flood to determine the most effective use of the victim. Simultaneously, the inserted Flood cells capture and break down the host body's cells into organic raw material, which is then absorbed and assimilated into the attacking Flood cells. The Flood infection then uses the absorbed biomass to create new masses of Flood Super Cells. As the Flood continues to use the resources of the host body, particularly its calcium reserves, the parasite's own cells build upon and augment the framework of the host to produce one of a variety of Feral-Stage Flood forms. This entire process, from the initial kill to total control over a fully mutated host body, takes only a matter of seconds. The infection process is not limited to living hosts; organisms that are already deceased are also susceptible to infection. As long as the host has not decomposed to the point where the body and nervous system have completely deteriorated, the Pod infector can infect and convert the host. The Flood infection utilizes the host's biological content as the fuel for its work, which is consumed and employed at prodigious speeds. From the beginning until the end of this complex, multi-step process, the Pod infector keeps the body "alive" by chemically isolating the host's dying brain, preventing the signals of brain death from reaching the rest of the body and causing it to shut down, which is an essential part of the parasite's mission of consuming and converting the host organism. While the Pod infectors are an effective and economical means of delivering infection, particularly against armored targets, the Flood can infect hosts through other means. Flood spores, if inhaled, can transform a host into a combat form. This is the Flood's primary means of infection when an outbreak reaches a certain point: Flood spores will be deployed into a local biosphere in copious quantities, instantly overwhelming any unprotected biological targets. Flood conversion may also be initiated through contact with lacerated tissue, making any Flood form a potential vector for infection. Even the most basic form of Flood genetic material is virulent; once inserted into a host, it will mutate the host's DNA over the course of generations until it is capable of forming its own Flood super cells. When infected by these mechanisms, host organisms tend to mutate at a more restrained level that maintains the structure and form of the infected life form, albeit with a significant number of haphazardly placed tendrils, claws, and minor organs, such as sensory stalks. Neurological Pod infectors selectively target species that possess sentient intelligence and are of sufficient biomass, and can infest intact or lightly wounded dead bodies. As a host organism is killed by the initial attack, Pod infectors use tendrils that pierce the skin of the host and find their way to the spinal cord. They then synchronize with the host's nervous system and gain control of their body, replacing its now-absent consciousness with the ravenous and voracious psyche of the Flood. Any useful information present within the memory centers of the host's brain, such as battle strategies and technical knowledge, is retained for use by the Flood. Despite this lingering of certain memories, no trace of the original mind remains; only a simplistic and primal urge to assimilate other species drives the organism after infection. However, the entirety of the host's mental content is seemingly absorbed and added to the whole, as the Gravemind has shown to be able to simulate its victims' consciousnesses within itself. In isolated cases, such as when the Flood seek very specific information from an individual's mind, they utilize an alternate method of infestation that does not subdue the host's consciousness immediately despite mutating their physical form; this allows the Flood to "burrow" into the host's mind, eventually giving them access to the entire scope of the host's memories. This has only been specifically seen when the Flood sought information from Captain Jacob Keyes, such as the location of Earth, or a starship that would free them from Installation 04. In addition, if the Pod infector that initiates assimilation is extremely aged or damaged somehow, the host may remain alive and conscious; Private Wallace Jenkins suffered such a fate, remaining alive and fully aware of his situation despite the mutation of his form, even exhibiting limited control over his body at times when the Flood instincts were dormant. When the Flood have amassed enough sentient hosts to form a Gravemind, then their behavior becomes far more coordinated, and the Flood collective becomes much more deadly as a result. The Gravemind may also speak directly through combat forms and pure forms under its control. Physiological While baseline neurological assimilation is the same regardless of host species, the Flood infection process includes physiological transformations, which vary depending on the host and the Flood's present need for specialized combatants. Upon being infected, higher-level species capable of combat are typically transformed into combat forms. The host's physiology is completely "rewritten" during the infection process: organ-based systems are corrupted, organ-specific functions are decentralized, and body cavities are decayed, making hitbox-selective incapacitation impossible and brute force incapacitation difficult. Due to the lack of a central nervous system, decapitation will neither stop or slow a combat form. Furthermore, munitions with high speed and penetration, such as sniper rifle rounds, are usually ineffective against combat forms. Picking off selective areas of a combat form leads to no wide-scale physiological impediments, and the projectile will punch through the decayed flesh rapidly, exiting through the other side of the combat form without dealing any major damage. To facilitate melee combat, combat forms generate tentacles and claw-like structures, which protrude from the host's arms. Generally, a single arm develops into a clawed appendage, while the other retains the capacity to manipulate objects, such as firearms. The rapid growth of these structures tends to push aside and break apart the host's hands and forearms. Combat forms can strike with devastating force, move with tremendous speed and agility, and jump to great heights, displaying physical abilities far beyond those of the host organism while it was alive. The price for these formidable abilities is that the required metabolism is so rapid and extreme that the host organism's corpse is rapidly broken down by the parasite. This is dramatically demonstrated by the rapid decomposition and disintegration of an infected life-form, which will eventually become a stunted, bloated, mobile generator and incubator for more Pod infectors, which is commonly known as a carrier form. Pod infectors and pure forms sense their surroundings using specialized tentacles, which are tipped with red ganglia. Exactly how these organs work is unknown; they may provide visual or chemical information, or perhaps a combination of both. In combat forms, these tentacles typically protrude from the chest cavity where the Pod infector is housed; in pure forms, they are located on the front of the "head" segment. The described changes occur when the Flood has still yet to overwhelm any meaningful resistance in a given locale. When this has been accomplished, available organisms will no longer be used to create purpose-built combat forms but are instead used to create a Gravemind or simply broken down and processed into biomass for a Flood hive. Metaphysical & Technological Although the Flood is biological on the most basic level, as an outbreak advances, it becomes a highly powerful self-replicating swarm which will seek to harness any mechanism — philosophical, ideological or technological — to perpetuate itself and its goals. These aspects were most prominently demonstrated during the two major outbreaks in the Forerunners era, particularly the Forerunner-Flood war. The Flood's most notable meta-biological aspect is the logic plague, an abstract infection carried along information transmission and exchange, typically used to subvert A.I.s. Mechanisms used to perpetuate this infection range from subtle philosophical persuasion through mutual conversation to more predatory techniques, such as swarming A.I. networks with a self-replicating information infestation with the ability to convert most machine intelligences near-instantaneously. In the later days of the Forerunner-Flood war, the Flood was able to spread the logic plague through any of its biological forms or infected ancillas. During its war with the Forerunners, after accumulating sufficient intellectual capacity and processing power in the form of several planetary Key Minds, the Flood gained the ability to manipulate neural physics, which served as the foundation of Precursors technology. This enabled it to control the Precursors' formerly dormant structures—most prominently star roads—and use them as weapons against the Forerunners, as well as manipulate space-time to become incompatible with Forerunner slipspace travel. On a more abstract level, the Flood's connection to neural physics caused the Forerunners to experience the very space-time around them as being increasingly hostile. Upon the development of a Gravemind, the Flood becomes capable of what can be described as telepathy among its hosts; given the Flood's origins, this ability may be related to neural physics. The Flood is able to use any technology it has assimilated, often to a superior degree than the original creators of said technology due to its vast base of knowledge and intellect, as evidenced by its ability to transition the UNSC frigate In Amber Clad into High Charity with a precision slipspace jump normally unheard of with human ships. Similarly, it was capable of tapping into Installation 05's teleportation grid and utilizing it with great accuracy. Developmental Stages A Flood infestation goes through four distinct developmental stages: #During the Feral stage, the Flood are at their simplest form: they communicate via pheromones and have the instinct to harvest enough calcium to establish a viable Gravemind. #The Flood become truly dangerous during the Coordinated stage: at this point, they are controlled by the Gravemind that was created in the first stage. #In the Interstellar stage, the Flood take control of space-faring technology which they use to consume the local star system. Subsequently, they spread throughout the galaxy to infect more hosts. #The Transgalactic stage is a theoretical stage in which the Flood utilizes all captured technology to depart to uninfected galaxies to further replicate. Countermeasures Small-scale There is no confirmed way to effectively stop a Flood infection once Flood Super Cells have entered a host. The only exception is too rare and factually suspect to be considered viable: the human disease "Boren's Syndrome", a neurological condition where radiological exposure causes electrical anomalies in the host nervous system, allegedly renders the host immune to infection while living. The neural frequencies of the host are "scrambled", apparently without negative consequences to the host. However, during Flood infection, the Pod infector is unable to tap into the host's nervous system, rendering it incapable of proceeding to large-scale physiological mutation. An interesting side effect of this failed infection is that Flood DNA and cells appear to be harmlessly integrated into the host's body. This seems to provide the host with increased regenerative capabilities, although this has not been independently verified. While Boren's syndrome left untreated may render the victim immune to the Flood, leaving it untreated almost always equates to death within a couple of years. There is said to be a "one in a billion" chance that research into the disease could produce a cure. However, the accuracy of this information remains highly dubious, as most of it is simply a hypothesis devised by Dr. Halsey to explain how Avery J. Johnson survived Flood infection. Johnson's "Boren's Syndrome" was actually a story invented to cover his past in the ORION Project: his symptoms were side-effects of his experimental enhancements, not a neurological disease. While the Forerunners could not find a cure for Flood infection, the Composer was designed to eliminate its effects by extracting a Flood victim's consciousness into digital form and then re-inserting it in an artificially-constructed body devoid of infection. However, the Forerunners never perfected this process and any imprinted bodies died soon after, due to the Flood somehow resuming the infection in the new body. The Forerunners attempted to use various means to slow down this process, including a specially designed harness of mesh and wires, which would apparently counteract the infection. The victim would retain most or all of their mental faculties and self-control, although their body would continue to be mutated by the Flood. This countermeasure was only temporary, however, and the victim would eventually either decay and die or be fully subsumed by the Flood. Several Forerunners on Installation 07 were subjected to this countermeasure. Although initially used to treat those with small-scale Flood infection already present, the Composer was eventually used by the Ur-Didact to convert his Prometheans, as well as a large number of humans, into AI constructs for his war machines, in an effort to combat the Flood more effectively and without risk of infection. Large-scale Since the Flood are a parasitic life form, they depend on other organisms for survival. Thus, the most effective way to stop a large-scale infestation is to take away their food sources. The Forerunners first attempted this by bombing large population centers and destroying inhabited star systems via supernovae, but this was seen as one of their last resorts and as such was performed too late in the war to make much difference. The last resort was the use of the Halo Array, which destroyed all sentient life in the galaxy and starved the Flood into extinction. However, the Forerunners' plan included some measures to preserve sentient life and return them to their home planets, allowing the Flood's "food source" to persist. Unfortunately, at the same time, specimens of Flood spore cells were kept for analysis on the Halo installations, allowing the threat of the Flood to be merely forestalled and not eradicated. Environmental stimuli seem to have an effect on Flood metabolism. In the event of a Flood outbreak, Halo installations create a quarantine zone around the affected area, inside which the ambient temperature is drastically lowered. At least one Flood research facility used low temperatures to keep its specimens inactive and dormant as it studied them. At least one of the Halo installations' Control Rooms was located in a snowy environment, possibly to hinder escaped Flood in their attempts to reach it. The Flood are also vulnerable to temperatures on the other end of the spectrum. Plasma weapons will easily burn through Flood tissue; the Forerunners incorporated directed-energy weapons into their Sentinels, indicating that they had determined high-enthalpy energy weapons to be the best 'basic countermeasure' available to fight the Flood. Known examples of Forerunner personal weaponry appear to be geared toward the disintegration of organic matter, also reflecting the Flood's vulnerability to extremely high temperatures. The UNSC has taken advantage of this weakness as well, making heavy use of flamethrowers in their engagements with the Flood. The "Cure" During the human-Forerunner wars, humanity (who at the time was a technologically advanced, spacefaring race) believed they had discovered another way to defeat the Flood. Using genetic engineering, a third of the human population was altered to carry a set of specially designed genes. This group of humans was then allowed to be infected by the Flood. Once the genes were exposed to Flood DNA, they triggered a cascade of cell destruction that spread throughout all Flood biomatter. The majority of the Flood died off as a result, although they would return in full force ten thousand years later. All information regarding this "cure" was destroyed by the humans as a final act of revenge against the Forerunners, leaving them unprepared for the second Flood strike. In reality, while humanity's efforts indeed produced the intended result and repulsed the Flood threat, it was later revealed by the Primordial that the Flood retreated by its own initiative, as humanity was not yet to be "tested" by the Flood. As such, humanity's survival was in fact due to the Flood's deliberate decision not to infect human populations, as the Precursors had determined to use the Flood to punish the Forerunners first. After the Flood began to ravage the Forerunners' ecumene, Forerunner scientists led by Master Builder Faber tried in vain to extract information on the cure from humans' ancestral memories, imprinted as part of their geas by the Librarian, unaware that the cure never really existed. Notable Victims *Private Wallace A. Jenkins *Private Riley *Captain Jacob Keyes *Private Manuel Mendoza *Lance Corporal Eugene Yate *Private Cranker *Gersten *Orlav *High Prophet of Mercy *High Prophet of Regret *High Prophet of Truth *Minister of Etiology *Sub-Commander Bero 'Kusovai *Bok *Mendicant Bias *2401 Penitent Tangent Category:Created by Trachodon56 Category:Aliens Category:Species Category:Earth-4001